Alongside the Geese
by Firestorm-244
Summary: It's been years since Anthy stepped passed the gates of Ohtori, but she has yet to find Utena. Will her new job bring her closer to finding the girlprince or offer her nothing but false hope? ::Edited and updated::
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: I'm not going to say much about the story so far, however I will shamelessly advertise my two other Utena fanfics: "In a Theatre" a story set a few years after the end of the series where Utena and Anthy are very much a couple and "To Be Friends Like That" a snippet exploring episode 25 and foreshadows events that will take place later on in the Apocalypse Saga. (AU is implied -) Read all, Review and prosper-or some jazz.

Along Side the Geese: Part 1

A few loose strands of violet hair were pulled behind her ear, for self-assurance more than anything else. She looked to the small group of men sitting patiently several tables away. Her eyes surveyed the room; upturned chairs littered the thick woodened tabletops. The lights were on high as various workers were scrambling to finish off little odds and ends: re-screwing a light fixture that had met with an unfortunate accident, or painting the last bit of baseboard that had somehow been neglected earlier on. And there was a lot of sweeping and dusting and wiping resulting from the band of cleaners who were navigating around them.

Considering the chaos contained within the confines of the building, it was fairly quiet. It smelled faintly of sawdust, varnish, dirt, and the labors of men battled off by the fumes of the various commercial products currently in use. Wouldn't it be nice to capture this wonderful, interesting smell? She knew that by the time they were open for business this place would have an entirely different scent. It would smell new, it would smell of perfumes and colognes and food of all sorts.

Her eyes came to rest on the open songbook before her, the notation known better to her than the arrangement of letters in the alphabet. She looked back to the small group of men, decked, of course, in business suits.

"If you please." One of them said.

Her fingers ran with rust. It had been so long since she'd done this but she seemed confident in her ability. There was a reason why people fell into utter enchantment when her fingers graced the keys of a piano. The tension she felt began to wane as she went on and she idly thought, that playing was like reacquainting herself with a lover from far off in the past, and it wasn't long before her digits had completely rediscovered their grace. They glided over the white and black keys and for a few fleeting moments she was lost in a sanctuary she hadn't visited in a long time.

When at last she'd finished, she took a moment to sit and reflect before addressing her perspective employers. They were murmuring amongst themselves. She couldn't make any of it out, though surely she could have if she'd wanted to. They made no indication for her to rise and so, she continued to sit; her back straight, her hands in her lap and her ankles, hidden by the long dress she wore, crossed one over the other.

At last, a hand gesture. They were signaling her over. Elegantly, she stood from the cushioned bench and made her way over to the men. Ah, so apparently there was a woman in among them. Perhaps it was time again for her to have a visit with her optometrist. . . The woman's skin was slightly dark but not nearly as dark as her own. And while her hair was long and wavy, free to hang as it pleased yet stylized and very appealing, the woman across her had her hair up in a bun and little could be said about it.

"That was rather moving," the woman said.

"Oh, thank you."

A man to her right flipped through some papers. "You've quite an impressive background."

"Yes," another called. "And you've listed that you're able to start by the twenty sixth?"

"Yes, although now it's turning out that I may be available as early as the fifteenth."

"Ah, that's good." another said after clearing his throat.

"Though we wouldn't need you to start until the eighteenth."

Her head whipped around to look at the man who'd last spoken. "I beg your pardon?"

"Is that date not good for you?"

"Not at all. I just-I'm sorry. This is just a wee bit sudden. I wasn't expecting to be employed right away."

"Nevertheless, we'd love to have you," the woman cut in. She held out her hand.

"Thank you." They weakly shook.

She strode rather happily into her apartment. It was undeniably a good day. She waltzed over to the fridge passing her old, white, black and brown-patched cat as he leapt up onto a piece of furniture. Her ever faithful friend, Chu Chu could be heard snoring in the distance. She scratched the cat's ear and stroked his back once before moving on to drop her purse on the counter. She continued over to the sink. The cat prowled into the kitchen behind her faintly meowing.

"What?" She asked. Knowing full well what the creature was after.

He meowed again walking over and pressing his side up against her lower shin.

"Alright, alright." She retrieved a can of cat food from the cupboard above her head and then quickly found the can's opener. It took her several tries before she was able to successfully remove the lid and shortly after she scrapped half of the can's contents into the small metal bowl beside the fridge.

With her cat happily feeding she opened the fridge door and glanced inside. She had some orange juice, a couple eggs, some cheese, the last of a package of deli meat, a tub of margarine, a container filled with stew that had probably passed its expiry date, and a fallen over box of baking soda. She stood the small orange box up and decided on a sandwich.

Dessert consisted of chipped ice in a bowl laced with lemon syrup on one side and raspberry on the other. By this time, Chu Chu had roused himself from his sleeping quarters and was squeaking, demanding to be fed.

Anthy took a moment to find a half eaten package of crackers and offered it to the little beast. He took them hungrily, delving into them and making a terribly crumbly mess on the counter where he was now perched.

She chose to eat on the couch where she snatched up the remote and flicked on the television. The news was apparently what she was to watch. The reporters informed her there'd been a massive pile up coming off one of the highways. She however paid the broadcast little attention; fore she was much too busy nursing her chipped ice.

Having finished his meal, Chu Chu scurried over to his master, but not before stopping to pull on the old cat's tail who promptly hissed and took a swipe at him.

"Chu . . ." The creature sighed after surviving the self imposed danger. He made his way onto the arm of the couch and began to cry for Anthy's attention.

"Hm . . .?" She asked glancing at him. She ran her tongue over the spoon licking off its contents. "Should I give you some?"

He continued to make a fuss. She allowed herself a light chuckle before offering him a small spoonful.

"I'm going to be playing the part of a pianist for a while."

Chu Chu wrinkled his nose up at her, though it's arguable as to whether the expression was directed to this news or to the lemon syrup.

She watched the weather forecast with some interest, mostly because she found the wrinkles on the old man's forehead amusing. He looked like a pug. Though her attention was kept for a short time on the matter, ultimately she tired of it and fell into a light sleep.

She was rudely jumbled awake when the television blared; some dramatic teens' show was on. It took her a moment to calm her nerves. She rubbed her eyes, flicked off the noisy box and stretched.

There was a yawn and to her discovery it was late evening. The rest of this drawn out day consisted of her flipping through a two day old newspaper where she smiled fondly upon coming across and reading the centerfold of the black and white comics section. She wasn't finished with the paper but decided to begin tidying the apartment after thinking about the cleaners from earlier that day. A pair of sweatpants accompanied with a tank top seemed more idyllic for dusting and scrubbing washroom tile, and so she changed. To compliment her new set of attire, a bandana with droplets of bleach stain was used to hold back her hair.

The shed cat hair on both the furniture and the floor was the first thing to disappear. Her cat hated the vacuum and fled into the bedroom when she turned it on near him. He did not emerge when she'd finished with it, even after she shook the small bag of cat treats she kept in the cupboard under the sink. She left two in his dish regardless and went off to tackle the grout work in the washroom.

Her weapon of choice was an old toothbrush of hers smeared with all-purpose cleaner. There wasn't much in the ways of grime but she scrubbed furiously between the tiles on the wall all the same. When she finished, she rinsed it all down and removed the makeup she'd worn to her interview.

Leaving the washroom she surveyed her surroundings. The cat had left the bedroom sometime ago and was curled up on the chair. She took a few more steps into the room and pulled back the few strands of hair that had fallen loose from the confines of the bandana behind her ear.

What should she do now? She returned to the washroom and made her way over to the tub. She filled it with hot water, undressed and bathed.

Tonight she would wear a long nightgown.

Having little else to do, she spent much of the remainder of the evening combing and then brushing her hair. Let it be known that wavy hair can be something quite beautiful to behold, but without near constant brushing, it is susceptible to massive, unmanageable tangles. To brush it now would make it that much less of a hassle in the morning, unless of course, she was to implement some of her more . . . unique abilities . . .

The day following was uneventful save for coming across a peculiar book in the local bookstore; a book by one Akio Ohtori.

The name in and of itself struck a chord of fear? No. Anxiety was more fitting. He was within the walls of his precious school; he couldn't reach her outside his world. This she knew. He would have to abandon his coffin in order to find her and she doubted very much he would attempt that. There was too much for him to loose by doing so.

Still, she could not fully shake the ill feeling that he was looming over her. Perhaps she felt that, by reading his work, she would somehow find herself back in his world . . .

After much deliberation, she decided to, at the very least, glance through the pages.

She found that he'd left something for her. It was small and on the inside of the cover, at first glance it looked like nothing more than elaborate, overlapping designs, but she knew better and she doubted anyone in existence would recognize the script. He probably thought he was being clever in doing so.

To simplify, he was asking for her return.

She wore a grim smile and purchased the tome. Along with a foreign book; she had a few loose ends to tie up.

When she'd returned to her current living quarters, she opened her brother's book, running her fingers over the writings. She lured the words of desire off their respected pages in a fashion similar to how she'd once summoned the noble sword of Tenjou.

She arranged the words accordingly, forming a message and then flicked her hand. The kanji blew away, vanishing in mid air. How she was able to do this is a question that will forever remain unanswered.

The day after that was spent entertaining Chu Chu who no longer felt that dancing in the ashes of the recently killed book was fun.

On Anthy's first day of work, she woke around the usual time. Groggily she went through her morning ritual: Yawn, stretch, undress, and dress for the day, brush her hair, brush her teeth, feed Chu Chu, feed the cat, feed herself and brush her teeth again.

With her shift not starting until early evening, she busied herself with performing the everyday house hold tasks. She made her bed, cleaned the liter box, swept the floors, vacuumed, and washed the few dishes in need of being cleaned. Chu Chu attempted to help by drying the cutlery but then became most entertained by the shiny objects, leaving Anthy to dry the rest.

She bagged her dirty clothes and took them to be laundered. A novella accompanied her while she waited for the load to wash and dry and then folded it before packing everything up again and returning to her apartment. By the time she finished the story it was time to go.

Anthy was earlier than she thought she would be. She stood outside looking up at the tall grey building for a short while before entering.

Anthy's shift started just on the tail end of the evening rush. The room was filled with men and women of business and refinement, out together or in small groups for fine dining and comforting atmosphere. She was hit with waves of conglomerated smells; from expensive perfumes and colons, to fresh bread and rich pasta dishes, to seafood meals, to wine and beer, cakes and pies, among many other things that she was not yet able to identify.

With a level of confidence that had for the longest of time been unknown to her, she made her way through the masses and successfully avoided several waiters and waitresses as the sped by her, nearly running her down and over to the piano which sat in a somewhat darkened patch of the room waiting for her.

She elegantly took her seat and was just about to begin the first composition when something caught her eye, but when she looked up from her song book, whatever it had been was gone. She felt slightly disoriented but dismissed it and began to play.

The room calmed a great deal as the diner rush came to its end, with the evening falling into night. When an opportune time came, Anthy took a quick break. Upon finishing with her personal business, while washing her hands her eyes were once again caught by something. It took her a moment to register the pink hair, cut short and she quickly left the women's room in pursuit.

In the few years past since Anthy and Utena's dramatic parting, Anthy had searched and pushed the extent of her resources trying to find the self proclaimed girl-prince and yet every time she'd ended up with nothing. There had been several times where she'd gotten her hopes up. Certain-believing that she'd finally stumbled onto the right path and that Utena would be there waiting for her. But of course, she never was.

Keeping that in mind, she wasn't overly surprised to discover that the person she'd pursued was indeed not Utena. Rather, she was simply a women, a coworker of hers apparently whom held a striking resemblance to the one she sought. Save for the fact that the women's skin was not as fair as Utena's and furthermore, her eyebrows were much too thick to belong to Utena.

Returning to her post, Anthy scolded herself. How foolish it was for her to think that she would just happen upon her like that.

She had wanted to clear her mind of Utena but found it difficult to do so. Her eyes stared at the arrangement of musical notation she was to play and began. She surprised herself moments later as she came to realize that she wasn't playing the notes she was reading but rather, it was "Miki's" The Sunlit Garden.

_TBC_


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: Sorry, some computer problems arose (Damn MSN virus) and I had to wipe my system. Part 3 should prove more interesting I think.

Alongside the Geese: Part 2

Unintentionally, Anthy's search for Utena was put on hiatus.

Her work came to occupy a great deal of her time. A month passed without her noticing. What she did notice though was that a great number of both the clientele and that of the staff had pink hair. It struck Anthy as mildly suspicious but no one else seemed to take note of this.

Little was spoken between Anthy and her coworkers. She kept to herself, as had long ago become her natural instinct. Attempts were made to be sociable but she really didn't care to all that much, it was such a chore.

She was to have three days relief from the demands of her job. Three days that she had been looking forward to.

Tonight she lay across her bed with an old crossword puzzle book. Chu Chu happily napped in the small valley of her back while her cat crept about somewhere beyond her room in search of mice that were not there.

So comfortable and warm with her fuzzy, pale, blue nightgown, Anthy's thoughts seemed to drift away from reality. The world beyond her bedroom door ceased to exist to her. There was only her, Chu Chu and her cat teetering on the fringe.

When the phone rang, she appeared discombobulated and confused; as if for her, the phone had not been at her bedside before she heard it. A moment later she answered it with a sinking feeling; she suspected she knew who it was.

The conversation she had with her employer was short. There was a change in schedule at the last minute and she was to go in tomorrow. She agreed to without hesitance, although it did throw off her plans. She'd planned on doing some shopping, seeing as once again the amount of food within her apartment had dwindled to near nothing. She also needed to pick up the bundle of cookbooks she'd ordered at the local bookstore, along with several other errands that she needed to run.

Chu Chu squeaked and broke into a tantrum; aggravated that he'd been roused from his slumber.

Anthy did not look forward to the prospect of a busy and rushed day. She took a moment to prioritize. She could manage forgoing the shopping for a few more days if she ordered in or went for take out. And if she wasn't mistaken, Anthy still had some kibble for her cat, although she'd want to double check to make sure.

Chu Chu continued to make noise.

Anthy offered him a brief glance.

His wining ceased under her gaze. He turned away from her and pouted in silence.

She returned to her book but found it hard to concentrate.

The ironing-she'd nearly forgotten. She breathed a sigh of defeat, got up and gathered what clothing needed to be unwrinkled. Best to deal with it now, she supposed.

_TBC_


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes: Hi all. Thanks a bunch to those who've reviewed AtG so far. You make me happy - For those who haven't reviewed-how dare you! Lol, just kidding-or am I?

Some of you were disappointed with the length of chapter 2, sorry. I would imagine that some of you found it a little disorienting to go from a 2700 some odd word count down to 500 some odd words. I know that would really bug me as a reader but it felt like the right place to end it, although I did have reservations about posting such a short chapter, hopefully the quality of my writing will over power the desire for quantity. Enjoy-that's an order!

Alongside the Geese: Part 3

Anthy woke up late. Her alarm hadn't gone off. When she investigated the small machine, she found that the digital numbers seemed to read oddly and she couldn't make sense of them. There was no time to worry about that however. There were things that needed to be done.

Getting out of bed this morning meant her tripping over a clutter of mess that Chu Chu must have made sometime in the night after she'd gone to sleep. She received no cheery greeting from the creature and saw neither hide nor hair of him within the rest of her apartment. He'd probably taken off again, she assumed.

There were times when he would arbitrarily leave her side. Anyone's guess was as good as hers in regards to where and why he went, but he usually returned to her within a few days. Although sometimes a couple weeks would pass before he resurfaced, and it would take longer still if she decided to move in his absence. In cases such as those, he would show up in a huff once she was settled. She found it comical and would sometimes move simply to engage him in a game of chase.

She spared a minute or two to tidy the mess and search for something in her cupboard that was breakfast worthy.

She read the contents of an empty cereal box as she munched on some toast. Then set out a fair bit of cat food anticipating that by the day's evening she wouldn't want to play around with kibble and water bowls.

She went on to grab her purse and sling it over her shoulder, then gathered the garbage and left the apartment.

Her floor's garbage shoot appeared to be malfunctioning. Upon closer inspection she discovered there was an obstruction in the shoot but was uncertain of exactly where it was.

There was a man down the hall who was groggily making his way over to where Anthy stood. "Is it busted again?" he asked, the coffee on his breath breaching her nostrils.

She looked back to the shoot and then to him. "No. I believe everything is fine now." She pulled back the door and dropped her trash bag in. "Excuse me."

When she made it to the elevator, its heavy doors revealed a baffled young woman whom Anthy had met in passing once or twice before.

"Oh, my…" Anthy uttered with an innocent expression that she'd mastered long ago.

"What happened," Anthy pressed, while knowing full well what had transpired with the woman opposite her.

"I don't know. . ." Her voice was dry; she looked absolutely shaken.

Anthy made way for the woman to step out.

"The shoot was clogged again," Anthy began as the woman passed her. "There'll be trouble for the perpetrator if this continues, I imagine."

The woman turned and froze. Her eyes stayed on Anthy until the doors closed. It was quite obvious that somewhere in that cluttered head of hers, warning bells were sounding.

For the wee bit of time she was outside, the sun shone brightly in the sky and she was tempted to buy a pair of sunglasses.

Grey cloud loomed to the West and she wondered if they would pass by quickly without incident or if they would drench the land. The later proved to be true.

Thunder yelled over the city as it chased after the lightning that struck with ferocity. Rain pelted the ground soaking everything. The noise was rhythmic and overpowering.

Anthy had only just recently been released from the piano. She stopped when she hit the sidewalk in front of the building she'd vacated, and observed her environment. Several coworkers scurried passed her, desperate for the bus stop; a combination of newspapers and umbrellas were implemented to try and keep them dry but it was a wasted effort when it rained like this. They wound up soaked in mere moments.

The air had chilled significantly since she was last out. An earthen scent wafted up from the ground that Anthy quite liked.

Someone pushed by, turning her around and nearly toppling her over. She felt the weight of her purse shift, her strap broke. She began fiddling with it to correct the problem.

Thunder crackled close by.

She caught a faint, but strange smell wafting from somewhere not far from her and when she looked up, her purse nearly fell from her grasp.

Standing at in the building's threshold, as if she herself had also just gotten off work stood Utena.

_TBC_


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Refer to bottom of page. (Words here for the sake of continuity)

Alongside the Geese: Part 4

There was something more than shock that etched their faces. They stood, unmoving, unblinking as if they were in a trance; as if they feared the other would disappear were they to move, or blink or even speak.

It was as if their surroundings, the building, the people; the distance between them disappeared leaving only Utena, Anthy and the rain. Lightning flashed nearby, momentarily silhouetting them, seconds later the thunder sounded.

Then, coming to as much a surprise to Anthy as it did Utena, the girl prince let slip a yelp when someone hurriedly bumped into her in passing, causing her to loose her balance.

In reaction Anthy motioned forward, "U-" but before she could even form the word, Utena regained her balance and was receiving somewhat of a scolding for having been in the person's way. Utena in turn apologized, none too whole heartedly and descended the rest of the steps.

"Himemiya?" she said as she neared.

The thunder and lightning crackled across the sky again and again and the rain was now pouring so heavily that the words 'Utena-sama' could scarcely be heard, although Anthy hadn't intended to add the honorific.

Utena's lips trembled with the urge to speak. Though it could have just been from the rain, her eyes were moist, as if she were on the verge of tears. He hands slowly rose towards Anthy's face. They hesitated before they actually touched her.

"It's. . .it's really you isn't it? You're really here?"

Anthy appeared much the same. "Yes. Yes I'm really here," she said as she grasped the other woman's hands, entwining their fingers. "Utena."

The lack of formality was not lost to Utena. "Himemiya. . ." her voice cracked as her lips curled into a smile. "Himemiya."

"Utena. . ." Anthy winced just then, looked away and rubbed at her eye. Something small and heavy had grazed her. She then felt something pelt the back of her neck. In no time they were pouring down as heavily as the rain. It was hailing.

"Come on," Utena said, "my place is nearby."

They broke into a run; their hands clasped together almost painfully Anthy noted. They moved off the main road and covered several back streets before they arrived at a small apartment building.

There was a moment where Utena fumbled for her clearance card, before they entered the building. The lobby hit them with a blast of cold air conditioning. Their skin goose bumped underneath their waterlogged clothes, though Anthy seemed to be adjusting to the temperature fairly quickly.

There was silence between them, aside from the chattering of Utena's teeth while they waited for the elevator. Utena seemed to have regained her composure somewhat since their meeting on the sidewalk. Upon stepping through its doors Utena said, "I'll find some clothes for you to change into-it's pretty lousy outside. You can crash here if you want to. . ."

Anthy pondered her proposal. "Yes. Thank you."

The doors opened and they stepped out.

Utena let out a gasp as she led Anthy down the hallway. "Sorry. My place is a total mess. I haven't had time to clean this week."

"Not to worry," Anthy assured. "I won't be offended."

They rounded the corner, stopped outside the nearest door; Utena unlocked it and held it for Anthy to enter. Instinctively Utena reached for and flicked on the lights. She gestured towards the washroom, "Why don't you take a shower-warm yourself up a little."

Anthy watched Utena as she went about the room, "don't mind the floor. I'll set some clothes out for you-make some tea." She headed to the kitchen and snatched up the kettle, brought it over to the sink and filled it, "I'll get the cookies too-I'm sure they're here somewhere-" forgetting the kettle in the sink Utena began searching the cupboards. "I just bought them the other day," she moved to the next cupboard, becoming more frantic. "I know I've still got some-"

"Utena." Anthy called, making her way over to the girl-prince.

She turned, her pink hair clinging as wildly to her face as her uniform clung to her body. "I just-"

Anthy's hands reached up to Utena's face.

"I just-" Utena hiccupped and found herself unable to stop the tears from falling. "I just-"

Her arms wrapped around Anthy's waist, her face buried into the dark skinned woman's neck. "I just. . ." and she couldn't say anymore.

"Shhh." Anthy cued and suddenly found it very difficult not to cry. She wasn't used to consoling someone. She kept quite, listening to Utena's sobs, stroking her hair.

"I thought I'd never see you again," Utena gasped.

"I couldn't find you, Himemiya-or Ohtori. They said it didn't exist. I-"

Anthy pulled away, made Utena look at her and then, gently kissed the tears from her eyes. "It's all right now."

"I failed you."

Anthy's eyes narrowed. "No. I'm here now because you didn't."

They stared at each other until they calmed.

Utena touched her forehead to Anthy's. "I'm so glad that you're free."

"Yes, thank you." Anthy said earnestly.

"Even though-"

"We're not going there." Utena said. "We've already been through this-there's nothing to apologize for. What's done is done."

"Yes."

They disengaged from each other.

"Sorry about all that," Utena weakly laughed as she retrieved the kettle and set it on the stove.

"Don't be."

Utena went to retrieve the tea bags. "Oh. . ."

"What is it?"

Utena smiled, "I found the cookies."

"Oh?" Anthy said. "We've got everything then, now don't we?"

"Yup. With a few years to spare."

_TBC_

Author's Notes: It always comes back to their promise doesn't it? Sorry for the long chapter wait. I have no good reason for delay-I've just been putting it off. Hope you've enjoyed the story so far. We're nearing the end now I think. Chillax and review. Thanks. -


	5. Chapter 5

(Author's Note: It's taken a while, but it's still going. Sorry but if you've read my Bio you'll know why. My thanks goes out to JoJoDancer, Lokiador, Hobbes the Cat, and Inverse Rose for their reviews on chapter four and to the others who've read and review AtG so far. You're all awesome.)

Alongside the Geese Part: 5

Anthy's time in the shower was brief. Even so, when she stepped out she found that Utena had already left for her an extra towel and a change of clothing, consisting of a pajama top and bottom that was much too long for Anthy's smaller build. She slung the shirt over her shoulders. The sleeves, meant to cover only until the biceps reached just past her elbows. The shirt probably stopped around the navel on Utena but on Anthy, the material ran half way down her hip. Anthy chose not to wear the pants.

She emerged from the room to find that Utena too had changed; exchanging her work clothes for a towel which hung from her shoulders and a pajama set similar to what Anthy wore.

Utena turned to her in greeting and froze at the sight of Anthy with unkempt hair, her fingers pulling the few strands in her face to the side. The large pajama top unbalanced from the motion and buttoned only until below the collar bone, revealed a great deal of skin around her neck and left shoulder. Her eyes continued downward making particular note of Anthy's bare skinned legs.

More than a few seconds passed before Utena caught what she was doing. She turned, slightly coughed and dumbly commented, "the. . . uh, hail stopped while you were in there."

Anthy allowed herself a smirk. It hadn't been her intention to befuddle the other woman so. She was reminded then of the intimacy they shared when they were bride and duelist champion, and how their relationship, though it was platonic in nature was so much deeper.

"It's just raining now, hard as it is to hear."

Anthy began to make her way into the kitchen, "so it would seem."

There was a brief pause.

"Shall, we?" Utena said with haste as if trying to erase the moment of her awkwardness.

Anthy complied and sat, Utena followed after. She picked up the tea pot in gesture. "It's English. I hope you don't mind I've sort of become accustomed to it."

"Not at all," Anthy replied. "I wasn't expecting the traditional."

They both gazed lethargically as the liquid flowed into the cups. Anthy's eyes then found interest in Utena's hands and how they prepared their drinks.

"Your tastes haven't changed have they?" Utena said, her hand on the small milk holder.

"Not for tea at least."

A happy silence ensued briefly as they drank their tea. When conversation finally started up it was Utena who spoke first. "So, how did you find me?"

Anthy looked up from her cup. "I did nothing special, if that's what you think. I was certain I had met yet another dead end."

"You mean you didn't know that was where I worked?"

"No."

Utena thought a moment. Noticed Anthy's empty cup, and refilled it, "Then why were you there?"

"For work. You didn't catch me at the piano?"

Utena paused just before she refilled her own cup, "You were…" she said quietly as if this news were unbelievable. "No. I didn't. Really? But I've never seen you there before, or was this your first night?"

"I've been under their employ since the reopening."

Utena's mouth gapped.

Anthy's lips curled into an amused smile, "and you?"

"Same." Utena uttered.

"Is that so?" She took another sip of tea. "You don't exactly strike me as one for food services."

A blush fell over Utena's face. "Yeah, well. . . I just sort of fell into it; I knew someone who knew someone and, uh, here I am."

Anthy reached for a cookie and took a bite. They hadn't been touched as of yet.

They went on to talk about how their lives had been since Ohtori. There was very little on Anthy's end. She left, to the amazement of Utena, of her own accord. Not dramatically but abruptly, before her words had time to register with her brother. She had done little else other than search for Utena, work, and acquire a cat. There was a little more to Utena's story.

"I can't remember things very clearly from that time," Utena said.

"That is not surprising," Anthy countered. "Though I suspect by _that_ time you were beyond his grasp."

"Hm?" Utena gave her a puzzled look.

Anthy took on a more somber expression. "You were. . . pierced by the swords, were you not?"

"The Swords. . ." the other woman echoed. In Utena's mind she recalled silver streaks cutting through the air. Target-less and wildly destructive because of it.

She heard more than saw. Their tips screeched with rage and hate, impaling themselves on whatever they came in contact with, echoing _witch_.

"Utena?" Anthy called again, stirring her from the unwanted reverie. The colour had left Utena's face. Her dark skinned hand fell over Utena's.

Utena looked down and took in a deep breath. "I'm alright." She puffed. "I just, I usually make it a point not to think about it. I feel ill when I do. I don't know what happened I was barely conscious. . ."

Anthy nodded with sadness and guilt in her troat.

"Himemiya?" Utena tentatively spoke.

"I don't even know if the swords got me but I heard them, and I saw what they did to you-how, how did you manage? How could you survive that? It wasn't just that time either was it? It happened before. . ."

Anthy offered her a faint smile. "For a long time, I didn't think it was that great a sacrifice. It was horrible, yes, the pain-but I believed it was my burden to bear, that for my brother, for his protection, I had to take them. For love, I believed I deserved it."

"No one deserves that." Utena said acidly. She left her seat, unconsciously kneeling, one knee on the floor, before Anthy, holding her hands tightly. "Least of all you."

Anthy partially turned in her chair, looked down to Utena's face of blind resolve. Again Anthy smiled sadly. "You're. . . so very compassionate."

Utena rose slightly, "It's tru-"

Anthy's head slumped forward, touching Utena's, to the strain of her back muscles. She could feel the head of Utena's cheeks; again she had her blushing.

"Hime-"

"Anthy," Anthy muttered. "Please."

Utena noted that the other woman's hands to the base of her neck. In turn, her hands had somehow found their way onto Anthy's lap. "Anthy. . ."

_TBC_


End file.
